1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of promoting the growth, increasing milk and fiber production and improving the feed conversion efficiency, of livestock and poultry selected from cloven hoof ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, swine, and poultry such as chickens, by introducing into the daily diet, or ration, of the animals, and in combination, or at least concurrently, the growth promoting substances antibiotic A3823 complex monensin, and, one of ronnel or bromophos or iodofenphos. The invention further relates to the feed or feed additive supplement and feed additive premix compositions containing the growth promoting substances used in said method.
The invention more particularly relates to the use of ronnel or bromophos or iodofenphos to overcome the depressed feed intake previously observed upon the administration of the antibiotic monensin to livestock and poultry.
The invention then relates to the use of said antibiotic and one of said phosphate esters in combination as synergistic growth promotants, to feed compositions and feed additive supplement compositions, including growing mash for poultry, containing both the antibiotic and phosphate ester at appropriate dosage levels to be used in said method, and, to feed additive premixes and feed additive concentrates employed in making up said compositions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The nature and the preparation of the antibiotic complex A-3823 is taught and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,568 issued Mar. 17, 1970, the teachings of which are herein incorporated by reference. The patent discloses the utility of the antibiotic complex in the treatment of coccidiosis. A product containing the A-3823 complex in the form of the sodium salt is being sold under the trademark Coban.sup.R (Trademark of the Elanco Manufacturing Company, Indianapolis, Indiana). The use of this same antibiotic for purposes of obtaining improved nutritional response is described in The Journal of Animal Science 39:259 (Abs.) 1974. This antibiotic when sold for this purpose is identified by the coined name monensin and by the trademark Rumensin.sup.R (Trademark of the Elanco Manufacturing Company, Indianapolis, Indiana). The A3823 complex is made up of factors A, B, C and D, with factors A and B together predominating to the extent of about 85-95 percent of the complex.
The free acid form of A3823 factor A is a crystalline compound having a melting point of about 103.degree. to 105.degree. C. The sodium salt has a melting point of about 267.degree. to 269.degree. C. The imperical formula of the free acid is C.sub.36 H.sub.62 O.sub.11 and the molecular weight thereof is 670. The semi-structural formula of factor A is: ##STR1##
The sodium salt form of A3823 factor B has a melting point of about 227.degree.-228.degree. C. The molecular weight of the crystalline free acid is 656. The semi-structural formula is as follows: ##STR2##
Factor C is a crystalline monocarboxylic acid having a molecular weight 684. The sodium salt melts at 212.degree. to 214.degree. C.
Factor D is also a crystalline compound containing a carboxylic acid group and having a molecular weight of 684. The sodium salt melts at 251.degree. to 252.degree. C.
The antibiotic A3823 complex is obtained by culturing a Streptomyces organism Stroptomyces cinnamonensis Okami (NRRL B1588) as represented by a permanent deposit with the American Type Culture Collection at Washington, D.C. that has been assigned the culture No. ATCC 15413.
The use of ronnel for the purpose of controlling parasites such as fleas, flies, lice, ticks, screw-worms and cattle grubs as well as the helminthic parasites such as lung worms, stomach worms and the gastrointestinal worms, attacking warm-blooded domestic animals is taught and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,480 issued Oct. 29, 1957. The method of the patent comprehends the administration of the ronnel either topically or orally at a dosage rate in the range of about 50 to 175 milligrams per kilogram of body weight depending upon the phosphate ester selected and the parasite intended to be controlled. It is further taught that the treatment may be carried out in the form of multiple doses over a period of several days in which case a daily dosage of from about 5 to about 25 milligrams per kilogram of body weight may be employed. Furthermore, it is taught in the patent that domestic animals thus protected from the adverse effects of parasites exhibit improved growth characteristics. Ronnel has been sold and used for such parasiticidal purposes for some time.
Rather recently, feeding studies were carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture to determine ronnel tissue residues of steers that had been fed ronnel and activated carbon. The results of feeding steers 4.5 milligrams ronnel per kilogram of body weight daily for about 90 days is reported and described in Journal of Animal Science, Volume 40, No. 4, 1975 by T. S. Rumsey, E. E. Williams and A. D. Evans. Rumsey et al. report, among other things, both a parasiticide effect with respect to control of house and stable flies and also a growth promotant effect.
Both the Moorman Mfg. Company and The Dow Chemical Company have prepared and sold a ronnel-containing mineral supplement (feed additive) for cattle and sheep both in loose form and in block form. Such mineral supplements have contained from about 5.5 to about 6 percent by weight ronnel and are expected to provide the animals feeding therefrom at least 4 to 4.5 milligrams ronnel per kilogram of body weight per day.
The use of ronnel at a dosage rate below the parasiticidal level is taught and claimed in the prior filed copending application of Robert M. Ioset.
The use of bromophos as an insecticide is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,610 and Belgian Pat. No. 625,198 as described in CA 64, 8086a and CA 60, 13187a respectively.
The use of iodofenphos as an insecticide is disclosed in Netherlands Application No. 6,515,066 of May 23, 1966 as described in CA 65, 13762b,a.